Design of resonant mirrors with negative group delay

Resonant mirrors introduce large spectral gradients in reflected phase while maintaining high reflectivity, allowing synthesis of optimized reflected phase for many practical applications. In this paper we show theoretically that asymmetry is required for negative group delay in lossless mirrors and explore the limits of reflected phase in resonant mirrors through the use of coupled mode theory and rigorous couple wave analysis. Our coupled mode theory shows that the phase response of resonant mirrors is determined by interacting resonances and gives insight into tradeoffs in design of mirrors with desired phase response. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America